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68 Memorable Questions for Establishing and Building Rapport With Customers Aja Frost Written by Aja Frost @ajavuu "This is Mateo." "Hi Mateo," you say enthusiastically. "It's Jessica from Marchbank … So, how was your weekend?" "Great," Mateo responds. " … How was yours?" "Awesome," you reply. "And uh … how is the weather by you?" "Um … it's warm. So that's good." You're probably bored just reading this conversation. So why do customer support reps use these types of generic opening questions in real-life conversations with customers? Unfortunately, many reps default to stock questions for simplicity's sake. They're easy and safe, yes, but there's a downside: They make it harder to build true rapport. The conversation with Mateo didn't have to start off this way. Imagine if, instead, you'd said: "Hi Mateo, it's Jessica from Marchbank. I saw someone from your town was on Shark Tank last night! Do you know Brett Finnigan?" Even if Mateo has never met Brett in his life, this question is far more engaging and memorable than "How was your weekend?" However, crafting the right rapport-building questions can be tricky. To master this skill, check out what goes into a great one -- then borrow some of our ideas. Rapport-Building Questions Building rapport is about getting to know someone new by making a connection about something beyond the surface-level. Rapport-building questions help connect people on a personal level with a unique, memorable, and appropriate answers to start a conversation, versus surface-level questions that may prompt a short back-and-forth, but won't lead to meaningful connection. Anatomy of a Memorable Rapport-Building Question An effective rapport-building question meets three criteria: *Personalized. People tend to blow off questions like "What's the weather like?" or "Got any fun plans for the summer?" because these could be asked to -- and answered by -- anyone. If you ask a highly specific question, however, you'll show you're actually interested in the answer (and by association, the customer). *Unique. Your question should be a little unexpected. By catching the person off-guard, you'll get a more honest answer -- and honesty breeds intimacy. *Appropriate. Even though your question should be surprising, it shouldn't be surprising in a bad way. Avoid anything that could be seen as nosy or out-of-bounds. For example, if the customer says, "I just got back from a conference in Atlantic City," don't reply, "Nice! Did you get a chance to party?" Establishing Rapport If you haven't met or spoken to a customer or another person before, and you're looking to build rapport, we recommend starting with "icebreaker questions" -- those lighthearted, easy-to-answer questions you're likely familiar with that help strangers get to know each other under positive, friendly circumstances. You'll still want to ask questions that are personalized and unique, and appropriateness will be even more important at this beginning stage of the relationship. A good rule of thumb for initially establishing rapport? Focus on icebreaker questions inspired by LinkedIn -- such as questions about the customer's location, career, and education. Here are a couple of examples: *I see that you're in city. What's the best part about living there? *Why did you decide to work in field? *Just noticed you attended school. What was it like going to college the South/on the West Coast/in a big city/in a small city/etc.? *What's your favorite aspect of your job? Once the relationship has progressed a bit, or if you know you're going to be in regular calls and meetings with this individual, you can the customer ask more personal questions to foster deeper connections and open up opportunities for mutual sharing. Keep reading for our full list of rapport-building questions to use in calls, emails, and in-person with your customers. 68 Questions to Ask Your Customers to Establish & Build Rapport Location Questions 1. Is it true what they say about living in city/state? (For example, "Is it true what they say about living in L.A.? Are the freeways essentially parking lots?") 2. Since you live in city/state, do you go to attraction all the time? 3. I have such good memories of city/state -- I visited when I was X years old and absolutely loved destination/feature. What do you think about destination/feature? 4. If I had the opportunity to pass through city/state, what would be your top recommendations? 5. Is city/state a good location for industry/company/profession? 6. I've heard restaurant/city/state has amazing item. Does it deserve the hype? 7. What's your commute like? (Do you drive, take public transit, carpool, etc.) 8. What brought you to city/state? 9. What's something most people don't realize about city/state? 10. Are there a lot of companies in industry in city/state, or are you guys fairly unique? 11. Is city/state where your company is located, or do you work remotely? 12. When's the best time of year to visit city/state? Job and Career Questions 13. My niece/son/grandchild wants to become a profession. Do you have any advice I should pass on? 14. I saw you used to work in field/profession/industry. How was the transition? 15. Do you go to industry event? Why/why not? 16. You tweeted about going to conference -- have you been before? I'm debating whether or not to go, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. 17. My friend used to work at or former company. Do you know name? What was it like working there? 18. As a rep for company, I talk to a lot of people in profession, but you're the first I've met who's ever majored in major! How'd that happen? 19. I read on your LinkedIn that you spoke at event -- really impressive. Do you have any future speaking events lined up? 20. I noticed you have your X certification. What was the process of getting that like? 21. On your LinkedIn profile, you listed skill under your Skills. How often does that come in handy? 22. You're fluent in language, right? Wow! Do you travel to country fairly often? Do you use language in your work? Is there a third language in your future? 23. Many of my clients in role tell me detail about job. Has that held true in your experience? 24. I'd love to learn more about role. Are there any resources you'd recommend? 25. My niece/son/grandchild wants to become a profession. Are there any subjects you'd suggest majoring in? 26. What job would you want if you weren't a profession? 27. Have you always wanted to work in field? School and Interest Questions 28. You're an alum of college! My friend graduated from college in year. They said it was really X … (Or, "I've never met anyone who went to college before! What was it like? Would you recommend applying?") 29. I noticed on LinkedIn that you help out with organization. How'd you get started with that? 30. Saw on Twitter that you're a massive sport fan. Are you looking forward to event? 31. In your LinkedIn summary, you mention loving activity. How long have you been doing that? 32. While I was preparing for our conversation, I noticed you follow influencer on LinkedIn. What did you think of their ideas on topic? (Alternatively, "Did you read their book?") 33. I saw you follow influencer on Twitter -- I do, too. Did you see what they wrote the other day about topic? 34. I saw on LinkedIn you attended college. My friend was thinking of applying. What was your experience like? 35. Do many people from college end up in current location? 36. Would you go back to college again for a graduate degree? 37. Are there any leaders in your space you'd recommend following? 38. What was the best class you ever took at college? Content- and Activity-Based Questions 39. You recently tweeted a link to show. Have you listened to episode/similar show? (This question also works for books, movies, and TV shows.) 40. I loved what you blogged/shared the other day about topic. Have you read article? 41. Since you're interested in topic; I was wondering if you'd read on topic? 42. I saw that you tweeted about name -- I'm looking for a new read, should I try name? 43. I'm putting together a list of great blogs for industry. Do you have any recommendations? 44. I'm putting together a list of must-read blogs for any profession. Which ones do you like? 45. I'm buying a book for someone's year birthday. Do you remember reading anything around that time that really changed your life? 46. I saw on LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook you're interested in topic. Do you have any related documentary recommendations? 47. I saw on Twitter, Facebook you're interested in topic. How did you about, come across that field? 48. Do you subscribe to any newsletters about industry, product category? 49. I read the blog post, interview, white paper, ebook you shared on topic on Twitter, Facebook, etc. What did you like about it? 50. Are you reading any interesting books these days? Company Questions 51. Congrats on company announcement! How long was that in the works? 52. I saw company won award recently -- way to go. Did you submit an entry, or were you unaware your team was up for consideration? Who were you competing with? 53. Your company just up/moved to a new office, right? What's the neighborhood/city like? 54. I saw on Twitter company just started using product. We were thinking of trying that one out -- what's been your experience so far? 55. Your company's retreat photo came up on Instagram. Did you like destination? What was the highlight of the trip? 56. I was browsing your company's site when I came across the blog. I loved coworker's/your CEO's post about topic; what do you think about topic? 57. I came across company's social media accounts while I was preparing for our call. It seems like a interesting, fast-paced place to work. What do you think? 58. I learned about company's unique tradition of X on company blog, social media. How did that tradition begin? 59. I learned about company's unique tradition of X on company blog, social media. Is that your favorite tradition? 60. Your company seems to host events, customer events, recruiting events, philanthropic events, industry events fairly often. Are you involved in those? 61. I saw that your office is based in neighborhood. Do you like to go out to restaurant for lunch? Random Questions 62. I read on blog/etc. that you think opinion. I feel the same way -- but I'm always curious to learn how other people formed their opinions. How'd you come to this one? 63. You seem to have a pretty busy schedule. Do you have any productivity tips? 64. It seems like you're fairly busy -- do you use apps to stay organized? I've been looking for a good one, so recommendations would be helpful. 65. You seem like someone with good Netflix picks. What have you enjoyed recently? 66. I saw the picture you shared of your pet on social media. Have you ever thought about making him/her an Instagram account? 67. Are you planning any work trips or vacations this season? 68. I saw the picture you shared of your pet on social media. Have you ever thought about making him/her an Instagram account? By showing interest in your customers and getting them to open up, you can deepen even the most transactional relationships. And once you've created that trust? You'll see a dramatic change in your ability to solve their problems and turn them into loyal customers. - from hubspot.com (https://blog.hubspot.com/service/rapport-building-questions)